Finnish Doc MONSTERMAN to Have International Premiere at DOXA Vancouver

The Finnish documentary MONSTERMAN by director Antti Haase celebrates its international premiere on Saturday, May 9th, at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver. MONSTERMAN tells the moving story of the heavy metal monster band Lordi, that unexpectedly won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006, and its front man Tomi Putaansuu aka Mr. Lordi. A real-life drama about a boy who wanted to be a monster and who did everything to live his dreams.

MONSTERMAN is produced by Illume Ltd (Finland), in coproduction with Film i Väst AB (Sweden), JAB Film AS (Norway) and Common Ground Pictures AB (Sweden).

Monsterman

As a kid Tomi Putaansuu created his own monster fantasy world, in which he - now in his early forties - still lives. The heavy metal band Lordi resulted from this world and Tomi does everything for it. In 2006 they were - against all odds - the first Finnish act ever to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Five years later, they are hundreds of thousands of euros in debt and aren't selling any gigs. Tomi is forced to close the Lordi-restaurant and the highlight of the year seems to be a performance for a group of Russian travel agents in the 'Santa Claus Village'. Despite all of this, Tomi, with full support from his parents and friends, stays true to his dreams and hangs on to his ideal world of monsters. Will his faith and perseverance ensure a comeback of the band?

Director Antti Haase: "Tomi and I grew up in the same town. In the early 1980s we used to play super hero games in the magic forests behind the Santa Claus Village together with the other kids from our neighborhood. I wanted to understand why I grew up to be an adult, and Tomi never did. At the same time this film shows that Lordi is not just a latex clown performing simple hard rock tunes from the 1980s. I have found a creative genius and hidden world of beauty, tragedy and comedy behind the mask of my beast friend."

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